By Sidney Kess and Steven I. Hurok The CPA Journal September 2019 On July 1, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Taxpayer First Act of 2019 (TFA), enacting changes to the IRS’s organizational structure, customer service, enforcement procedures, management of information technology, and use of electronic systems, with a focus
By Sidney Kess and James R. Grimaldi The CPA Journal August 2019 At first glance, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) had little direct impact on the tax treatment of charitable giving. Drilling down, however, it has significantly affected donation-related tax benefits. Many individuals might not be
By Sidney Kess and Edward Mendlowitz The CPA Journal August 2019 Financial planning services can be a separate service or an add-on to tax or other services. With the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s (TCJA) simplification of tax returns for many individuals, the CPA’s role as a preparer is being diminished;
By Sidney Kess and Edward Mendlowitz The CPA Journal June 2019 Trusts enable individuals to ensure the financial health of loved ones long after they are gone, but only if they are properly set up and administered. Trustees bear a great personal responsibility in ensuring that the trust is handled properly.
By Sidney Kess The CPA Journal May 2019 Financial planning is a generic term for all of the services that CPAs perform that deal with a client’s individual wealth. It is also a specific term that relates to a single service that is performed. In this article, Sidney Kess will
By Sidney Kess The CPA Journal May 2019 The tax impact on investment income can be mitigated through the transfer of assets into retirement accounts. Not all accounts and investments are taxed equally, however, and the most efficient strategy is not always immediately apparent. Sidney Kess compares the three broad
By: Michael Sardar The CPA Journal May 2019 Edition The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), signed into law on December 22, 2018, delivered sweeping changes to the federal tax code. These changes brought with them ambiguity and uncertainty, which will likely lead to federal tax audits and disputes on how
By Sidney Kess and Michael Kelley The CPA Journal April 2019 For many investors in art, coins, or fine wine, their investments are their passion. This joy can turn into tax pain, however, when it comes time to sell. The capital gains tax on collectibles is considerably higher than almost
By Sidney Kess The CPA Journal January 2019 Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), the number of taxpayers that take the standard deduction on their federal income tax return may rise to over 90%, according to the White House Council of Economic Advisers. The TCJA made the
By Sidney Kess The CPA Journal December 2018 The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) did not make any major changes to the taxation of gains and losses from securities transactions. Favorable tax rates continue to apply to capital gains, and losses continue to be used as offsets
